envelopes
by ten million fireflies
Summary: "every year for four years, annabeth chase writes percy jackson a christmas card." :: a percabeth holiday fic. ignores HoO canon. art by viria, edited by gracingpiper.


_Holiday fic I wrote for a sort-of NaNo thing I did in November where I tried to write a thousand words each day for a month. It didn't work out, but I got some good fic out of it (though I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one). Percabeth, ignores HoO canon as my fics generally do, lowercase because it's pretty, experiments with a few different writing techniques, might deviate from original series canon because I couldn't quite remember a few details about the end of TTC. Reviews are treasured. Enjoy and have a lovely Christmas, demigods. _

**envelopes, a p/a holiday fic**

every year for four years, annabeth chase writes percy jackson a christmas card.

not just percy, of course- she gives one to grover and clarisse and chiron and even sometimes to mr. d, though it always feels strange addressing a card for a christian holiday to a pagan god. but even the greeks could use a little holiday cheer- so she reminds herself that it's a cultural thing and writes him one anyway.

every year on black friday she makes a list of people to write to and hangs it above her bunk, checking off the names with a green pen as she goes, and the black friday after the summer of her first quest, percy jackson's name gets added to the bottom of the list.

every year for four years, annabeth chase writes percy jackson a christmas card.

(but it's not always quite that simple.)

-/-

the words "percy jackson" are written in red ink on a wrinkled envelope shoved in the depths of hades that are also known as the third desk drawer on the left in a certain seaweed brain's new york city apartment. inside the envelope? a christmas card, nicely if somewhat awkwardly worded.

_hey seaweed brain,_

_merry christmas. i hope you're well and haven't gotten into too much trouble since i saw you last. best wishes for the new year and let's hope we meet again next summer with all limbs attached and only a few stories of monster encounters, yes?_

_your friend,_

_annabeth_

_ps: don't feel_ _special, i write one of these to everyone. christmas cards are kind of my thing._

will he ever read it? well, no. see, the day the envelope bearing annabeth's return address arrived at the jackson's home, sally jackson got the mail and put the card on percy's desk, as she always does. and as he always does, percy jackson swept his mail into his third desk drawer on the left and resolved to read it "later." he didn't. he never does.

so when he decides to iris message annabeth a week later, it goes kind of like this:

confused grey eyes, "percy?"

an eager, stupid smile, "hey annabeth!"

a furrowed brow, "...what are you doing?"

a "well isn't it obvious" expression, "wishing you a happy new year! i haven't heard from you since camp!"

a raised blonde eyebrow, "you didn't get my letter?"

confused green eyes, "...what letter?"

(it sort of goes downhill from there.)

every year for four years, annabeth chase writes percy jackson a christmas card.

the first year, however, he's not all too successful in receiving it.

(such is the nature of oblivious seaweed brains who don't yet understand the nature of methodical wise girls who follow an unusual but precise holiday routine despite the ancient greek character of the lives they lead.)

-/-

the words "percy jackson" are written in red ink on a ripped-open envelope carefully tucked in the vinyl pocket of a green binder sitting in the main compartment of a certain seaweed brain's beat-up backpack. inside the envelope? a christmas card, written in the slightly illegible handwriting that tends to occur when one is composing a letter in the back of a helicopter after nearly dying in an attempt to hold the entire sky on one's back:

_dear seaweed brain,_

_perhaps it's slightly unnecessary to write you a christmas card when i'm currently sitting next to you, but you're asleep and christmas cards are sort of my thing, so here we are. i hope you enjoy your holidays. spend time with your mom and get some rest. you deserve it. it's been a crazy year._

_and thanks, i guess, for finding me. and saving me. i would have killed you if you didn't._

_merry christmas._

_your friend,_

_annabeth._

percy reads over the words for the fourth time that day on his second day back at school after christmas break. everything in him wishes he were at camp half blood, goofing around with grover in the mess hall or dueling with thalia in the sword arena or sitting on the front steps of his cabin with annabeth, looking at the stars and listening her tell him the stories of the heroes who found themselves there. he runs his fingers over the loopy handwriting of the letter he promised not to lose this time:

"annabeth i swear i won't just shove it in my drawer this time-"

"actually read it, too-"

"i will! why do you even write these things anyway?"

it wasn't a cold night- camp halfblood's borders kept it pretty mild year round- but annabeth still shivered when she answered his question.

"our first christmas on the run...well, we were on the run. we didn't have much. thalia and i weren't even planning on acknowledging the holiday...luke wrote us both these nice christmas letters. he said we had each other, and that was something to celebrate. i guess it's something i've always done since then."

(it sort of just got quiet from there- he didn't really have anything to say. it was the nice sort of quiet though, the kind when you're comfortable enough with the person you're with that silence doesn't have to be awkward. it can just be content.)

every year for four years, annabeth chase writes percy jackson a christmas card.

the second year, he reads it and saves it because her words remind him of the home he's lucky to have on the long island sound.

(such is the nature of questioning seaweed brains who don't understand how certain ghost kings can turn away that home, and such is the nature of thankful seaweed brains who are glad they have certain wise girls to keep them grounded.)

-/-

the words "percy jackson" are written in red ink on a crumpled up envelope that has just landed at the bottom of the silver trashcan that stands at attention next to the oft-used desk of a certain wise girl, as she sits in her san francisco bedroom and wonders how to write to someone you haven't spoken to in six months. inside the envelope? well, inside the envelope was a christmas card, but she took it out and ripped it to pieces and threw it inside the trashcan too. a christmas card that he'll never read:

_dear percy,_

_i know i said i'd keep in touch. sorry this is the first you've heard from me. i've been...busy, i guess. you probably didn't notice, since you have that rachel girl to hang out with now. but tradition is tradition, so here's a christmas card anyway._

_merry christmas, percy. i hope you have a happy and restful holiday and that the golden eyes of Kronos in the boy who essentially raised you don't show up in your dreams every night and that you don't stare out your window each morning wondering if he's going to come back to you and that you haven't noticed the monsters growing more powerful and that thalia doesn't iris message you in the middle of the night crying because she found out what happened to luke and that chiron doesn't tell you "just stay at home, there's nothing you can do annabeth" like you haven't already proved what you're capable of. i hope you're enjoying your break because this might be the last one you get._

_merry christmas, percy. i would iris message you but i'd just start shouting at you. but i do miss you. a lot. i...that night in the volcano. it shows up in my dreams too._

_love,_

_annabeth_

she reads over what she's written and knows he can never see this. she's said too much about something she hasn't even figured out yet. but she knows she's jealous of him, jealous that he gets to pretend nothing is happening and stay blissfully oblivious in that new york apartment of his. she's jealous of rachel elizabeth dare, jealous that she gets to be a normal part of percy's life instead of the part that reminds him of the world he's holding on his shoulders. she's angry that she hasn't talked to him and that he hasn't talked to her but angrier still when she tried to bridge that gap in a christmas card. and she's confused, because when the prophecy said to lose a love worse than death she doesn't know why it was percy's name that came to her mind first and then luke's but she does know that when she kissed him inside mount saint helen's she was positive she'd never see him again and half sure she loved him.

how do you put all of that in a christmas card?

every year for four years, annabeth chase writes percy jackson a christmas card.

the third year, however, she doesn't go so far as to send it. every day for the two weeks leading up to december 25th, percy checks his mailbox and waits for the familiar red-ink-addressed envelope that isn't coming.

(such is the nature of analytical wise girls who try to apply logic to the illogical phenomenon of love, and can't decide what to say and thus say nothing at all. and such is the nature of confused seaweed brains who just want to see her again.)

-/-

the words "percy jackson" are written in red ink on a pristine envelope newly tucked into the inside peacoat pocket of a certain seaweed brain. he'd still be holding onto it, but he needs a free hand to intertwine with that of a certain wise girl. inside the envelope? a christmas card, hastily written, that read:

_dear percy,_

_we have a date in an hour so this feels unnecessary, but a tradition is a tradition, so: merry christmas._

_sometimes i wonder how the two of us are still alive. i'm thankful that we are, and that we're still together. and for you._

_don't feel too important, now. happy holidays and see you soon._

_i love you,_

_annabeth_

he'll read it later- he doesn't need to now, because now his fingers are laced with hers and he can look her in the eye- well, he could if he didn't need to stare at his ice skates to keep from falling over and making a fool of himself in the middle of rockafeller center. he's already made a fool of himself tonight- a lovestruck fool, and it went sort of like this:

a chuckle, "one of these again?"

a playful- but still slightly frightening- glare, "you know how i am about christmas cards, seaweed brain."

a quick kiss to her forehead as she laces up her skates, "you can just tell me merry christmas this year, annabeth, you don't need to write it to me."

a roll of sterling-silver eyes, "get used to it, seaweed brain, some things don't need to change."

a wobbly jump to his ice-skated-feet, "i'm glad some things did."

a quizzical look, "like what?"

a meeting of eyes, green to grey, "like us. you, and me, together. i'm lucky to have you."

a hand through her blonde curls, "percy, that was quite possibly the cheesiest thing you've ever said to me."

a seaweed-brain grin. "i don't care." he places the envelope in his pocket, takes her hand and pulls her onto the ice. their first christmas eve together.

every year for four years, annabeth chase writes percy jackson a christmas card.

the fourth year, however, annabeth chase also gives percy jackson a christmas kiss.

(such is the nature of seaweed brains and wise girls who can finally breathe and just be together, and who, for the purpose of preventing arguments, have agreed to disagree on the importance of traditions and cheesiness respectively in holiday celebration.)

-/-

every year for four years, annabeth chase writes percy jackson a christmas card.

(this was their story, in four little envelopes.)


End file.
